predikaatio

Predikaatio, or predication, is a fundamental concept in linguistics and philosophy describing how a predicate ascribes a property, relation, or action to a subject or to other arguments within a proposition. In a clause, the predicate is the part that asserts something about the subject; the subject is the argument about which the predicate states something.

Predication can be realized in different ways across languages. Verbal predication uses a verb or predicate verb phrase to express an action or event. Nominal or adjectival predication links a noun phrase or an adjective to the subject, often via a copula or through grammatical marking such as case or agreement. Complex predication can involve additional arguments beyond the subject, such as objects or obliques that participate in the predicate’s relation.

Copular predication involves a linking element, commonly a form of the verb "to be" in many languages, for example The cat is small. Some languages feature a zero copula, where the linking relation is expressed without an explicit copula. Others rely on morphology, word order, or case marking to signal predication.

Semantically, predication underpins truth conditions: a sentence is true if and only if the predicate appropriately applies to the subject under the relevant interpretation. Predication is closely related to predicate-argument structure, theta roles, and valency, and it varies widely across languages in how it is encoded and interpreted.

See also: syntax, semantics, copula, predicate-argument structure, valency.